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1.14.2015

Throwing Starfish

We enjoyed another successful session, serving Room in the Inn (RITI) at Trinity United Methodist Church. Trinity's pastor, Reverend Debora Christiansen- or "Rev Deb" according to her friends- took a moment to speak to us about the guests who would sleep in the beds we were preparing. She also shared with us how she was introduced to RITI, through another Memphis church.

Another Room in the Inn?!
Rev Deb's words led into a powerful discussion and some really great questions from these young volunteers.

Out of the mouths of babes...

"What if there are lots of volunteers, but not enough locations?"

We learned that Room in the Inn is not one place that serves one night a week. Rather, it is an initiative that can happen in many locations, any
night of the week. Memphis just needs more organizations to step up and
take part- something that can happen if we all spread the word. I
mentioned several ways to get involved in a previous post. (I'll list them again below.) One thing I forgot to mention is that even
sharing this post, sharing pictures, or sharing information from RITI goes a long way! What is this social media thing for, if not to make the world a better place?

"What about everyone else, who has to sleep out in the cold?"

I think it can be easy to get lost in the reality that we are serving only 13 people on one
cold night of the week. Someone recently asked me, "Don't you feel like it is a futile effort, when only a small
portion of the homeless population can be served?" Repeating this
question to the group raised some eyebrows and evoked a peculiar remark.
"Starfish!" I understood the reference. Janie Kathryn and I actually received the story for Christmas and I was happy to have a chance to share it.

Adapted from The Star Thrower-

There
once was a man walking along the beach, when he came upon a boy picking
up starfish from the sand and throwing them back into the ocean. The
man asked the boy, "What are you doing?" To which the boy replied, "I'm
throwing them back, so they won't die." The man questioned the boy
again, "Don't you realize there are many miles of beaches and many other
starfish lying in the sand? You can't possibly make a difference." The
boy smiled, threw another starfish and said, "I made a difference to
that one."

"I'll tell my friends about it and they'll tell their friends... "That's the spirit! It's true, we may have only helped 13 people on one
particular night, but we also made a difference in THIRTEEN lives, in
only ONE night. A little perspective from a group of kids can go a long way.
Pass it on! Perhaps, someone you tell will organize another RITI site and we'll just keep throwing starfish back into the ocean.

Do you have a kid or teen who wants to join us?

There are still a few spots left for our Month of Service Learning. You can sign up here.

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Hello There!

We're not homeschoolers, we're outlearners! The world is our classroom and every person we meet is our teacher. From crafting to creative instruction, celebrations to service projects, Peachy Skeen is a collection of experiences from a mother and daughter, a teacher and student. Who is the teacher and who is the student?